Russian President Apologizes to Israeli Prime Minister for Lavrov's Comments on Hitler's "Jewish Blood"

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the Kremlin website reported.

Putin congratulated Bennett on Israel's Independence Day and discussed the war in Ukraine with him. Particular attention was paid to humanitarian issues, including the evacuation of people from the Azovstal plant in Mariupol.

Ahead of May 9, Putin and Bennett "stressed the special significance of this date for the peoples of both countries." Putin asked to convey "wishes of health and well-being" to World War II veterans living in Israel, while Bennett noted "the decisive contribution of the Red Army to the Victory over Nazism," the Kremlin reported.

RIA Novosti asked the Kremlin press service whether Putin and Bennett discussed the words of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who stated that "Hitler had Jewish blood." The press service responded that all topics of the conversation were listed in a message on the Kremlin website.

Updated : Naftali Bennett's office said Putin apologized for Lavrov's comments. Bennett "accepted Putin's apology" and "thanked him for clarifying the president's attitude toward the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust."

• On May 1, Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Italian TV channel Mediaset that “Hitler had Jewish blood” and “the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews.” These words were made in the context of the Ukrainian authorities allegedly supporting the Nazis, despite the Jewish origin of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
• The Israeli authorities accused Lavrov of lying and racism, and summoned Russian Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov to provide clarification. Russia's Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar called Lavrov's words "shocking" and asked the minister to apologize for them.
• On May 3, the Russian Foreign Ministry published an article, “On Anti-Semitism,” in which it accused Israel of supporting the “neo-Nazi regime in Kiev.” On May 4, the ministry’s official representative, Maria Zakharova, said that Israeli mercenaries were fighting in Ukraine “shoulder to shoulder with Azov militants.”